A Certain Romance || Ashton Irwin

Less Is Better

I sat in the living room watching Michael and Luke play a serious game of beer bong against two guys that didn't look familiar to me. Ashton and Arrie sat on either side of me bored as ever. Ashton was likely sending raunchy texts to Margarita with his cell phone halfway up his nose and Arrie had his head rested in one hand while the other hand opened and closed his prepaid cell phone like it was a nervous habit for him.

"Aren't there better party games to play instead of beer pong and truth or dare?" Ashton asked completely bored.

I had to agree with him. Truth or dare was too middle school and beer pong was more like a desperate cry for a slight buzz off beer that wasn't even worth having on your taste buds.

"I was thinking the exact same thing." Arrie complained under his breath.

"Pin-the-hair-on-the-douche sounds like it'd be a party hit, don't you guys think?" My mention of the game caused Ashton and Arrie to groan at the comment while I laughed with pure joy.

Then one of those rare moments where time stopped happened. Everyone at the party halted their conversations and their dancing and were all focused on one of Calum's hot shot jock friends smashing his head right through a picture frame of some sort. There would've been dead silence throughout the house if the music had not been playing.

Calum leaped from his seat by the beer pong table, shoving his drink and pizza to some girl next to him and ran towards his friend.

"Oh. my. fucking. God." Calum stressed every word in disbelief, taking the frame in his hands before his eyes widened. "OH MY FUCKING GOD!" He shouted. His friend jumping almost four feet in the air.

Calum's friends loved him, asshole or not. They would always praise him for any small thing he did. But sometimes they were just not prepared to have Calum yell at them. They had the mindset that as long as they praised Calum, Calum would never dare speak to them like he spoke to those he claimed were "below" him. I liked to think of it as a classic historic tale. Those close to the king thought they were safe and could get away with anything but once you betrayed the king you found yourself staged in front of the entire city to be decapitated.

A modern day version of that would likely unfold before our eyes tonight.

"Dude chill, it's just a painting!"

"Just a painting, Charles?!" Calum pulled the painting from Charles' head. "Does this look like it's just a painting to you?!"

Charles shook his head, trying to stare right into Calum's eyes even though Calum's eyes were glued to the object in his hands. "N-"

"Everyone get out." Calum interrupted Charles. "The party's over."

The drunken assholes nearby began to laugh and anyone should know better than to laugh when Calum turned that deep crimson color that signaled he was ready to knock someone out or murder them and hide their body in his backyard.

"I said the party is over, now leave!" He angrily ordered again.

Those who weren't ready for the party to be over at 11:20 at night were tossing their cups full of alcohol to the floor and were shooting annoyed glares to Calum. Gutsy drunks, they were.

I felt either sides of the couch rise up. Michael, Luke, Ashton and Arrie all stood in front of me, each trying to get me to get up. Tonight, I had other plans than to grant Calum's wishes and leave - no matter how tempting it sounded to go home - my trashed home - and take my jeans off.

"Sage, come on!" Ashton pulled me up from the seat.

"You guys wait for me outside," I nodded my head to the door. "I'm going to talk to him."